Automatic locating-buoy.



AUTOMATIG LOGATING BUOY. APPLICATION FILED our. 11, 1908.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

UNITED sTATEs r ENT oFFIcE.

JAMES N. MABGOU AND JOSEPH c. sr. PETER, or BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMATIC LocATINe-BUoY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

Application filed October 17, 1908. Serial No. 458,306.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, JAMES N. MAROOU and JosEPH G. ST. PETER, citizensof the United States, both residing at Bay City, in the county of Bayand State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Locating-Buoys; and we do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

Our invention relates to automatic locating buoys, one object being theprovision of novel means whereby the location of a sunken vessel isautomatically indicated.

Another object is the provision of means for sustaining the sunkenvessels occupants above the water level.

To these ends weprovide a buoy, the seat of which is secured to the deckor other suitable part of a vessel. The buoy is connected to the vesselby a flexible cable conveniently coiled in the seat, such buoy adaptedto remain on the surface when the vessel sinks. The buoy may be equippedwith audible and visual signals, life belts, and preservers. Areceptacle for important papers may also be provided.

Our invention also contemplates the provision of a novel form of seatfor the buoy, and to these and other ends our invention consists incertain novel features and combinations such as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view ofthe seat showing the buoy in full lines, Fig. 2 is a view showing thebuoy in use, and Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the means forsupporting the signals.

It is well known that many vessels both at sea and in the lakes are lostin storms or through other causes and never again heard of. The onlyreasonable explanation of these disappearances is that the vessels havesunk leavingno indication of their location.

It is our intention to provide means whereby evidence of the location ofsunken vessels will automatically remain in sight and hearing of passingvessels.

A indicates the deck of a vessel. A suitable seat and container 1 whichmay conveniently be cylindrical in shape, is provided with feet 2, 2Secured to the deck.

the buoy in The lower end of the seat is equipped with a perforatedbottom 3. The feet are of such height that the seat is supported abovethe deck surface to permit the free circulation of air beneath the seat.This prevents the accumulation of moisture beneath the containe'r andavoids rotting the deck.

A buoy 4 of any suitable construction is preferably provided with acircumferential rib 5. The lower end of the buoy may be I weighted. Thisbuoy is seated in the upper open end of the container normally closingsuch upper end, the rib 5 resting upon the upper edge of the containerand supporting position. The lower end of the buoy normally locatedwithin the container, is provided with an eye bolt or other fasteningmeans 6 to which one end of a cable 7 coiled within the container, isswiveled. The opposite end of the cable is fastened to a second eye bolt8 which passes through the perforated bottom 3 of the container andpreferably through the deck A, as shown.

The container is provided with apertures 9, the perforations 10 of thebottom permitting any water which may enter the container through theapertures 9 or through the open upper end of the container to drain out.Depending from rings 11 on the buoy at points above the water line are aplurality of rings carrying life belts 12, the free ends of which areequipped with hooks 13 adapted to engage the rings and one or more ofthese life belts may be utilized to attach life preservers (not shown)to the buoy.

Then a vessel provided with our invention sinks, the water will enterthe container through the apertures 9 provided therefor as well asthrough perforations 10 to float the buoy which remains on the surface,the cable uncoiling as the vessel sinks. Survivors may swim to the buoyand pass the life belts under their arm pits, hooking the free ends inthe rings, whereby the buoy will support them above water level withouteffort on their part. The free ends of the belts normally depend beneaththe water level when the buoy is in use in order to prevent them frombecoming clogged with ice during winter. In the event that the vesselsinks near shore, a survivor can release the life preserver and make forthe coast.

As a means for attracting the attention of passing vessels, to the factthat there is a sunken vessel, we may provide the followingconstruction. A cage 14 is secured to the top of the buoy, such cagebeing provided with a hub 15, one end of which is adapted to receive asupport 16 for a bell or other audible signal 17. The audible signaldepends within and is protected from floating ice or de'bris by thecage. A flag staff 18, the lower end of which is mounted in the hub,projects above the buoy and may be provided with a flag 19 bearing thename of the vessel. The flag staff may be hollow, its upper end beingprovided with a removable closure, as a cap 20. Important papers ornotes may be thrust into the hollow fiag staff and the cap replaced.

While we are aware that it is not new to provide means as a buoy forlocating sunken vessels, we do not know of any means for attaining allthe results obtained by the use of our invention, and it is evident thatchanges might be made in the form and arrangement of the several partsdescribed without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

Having thus .fully disclosed our invention, what we claim as new is 1.An indicator of the class described face the receptacle bein aperturcdto per mit the water to drain ofi and to admit water to the bottom ofthe receptacle, an eye bolt extending through the bottom of the raisedreceptacle and into the deck to connect the receptacle to the deck, abuoy seated in the open upper end of the receptacle, and a cableconnecting the buoy to the fastening means.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JAMES N. MARCOU. JOSEPH G. ST. PETER. lVitnesses RALPH S. VVARFIELI),CI-IRIsTIN i A. BRAIDEL.

